No Regrets
by Calophi
Summary: Time eventually heals all wounds and opens doors to new possibilities. A series of chronological MirKag drapples. Manga canon. Nominated for Best Romance-Other at IYFG!


**AN: **A series of drapples written for **Tragicamente ** for theLiveJournal community, **Himitsu Santa** (with an underscore). Tons of thanks to **planetgal471** for her superior beta-reading. Nominated for Best Romance - Other for 4th Quarter 2007 at IYFG!

* * *

When Kagome and Miroku returned to Edo, weary and broken and minus their other party members, neither of them had expected the village to be destroyed and abandoned. After studying his surroundings, the monk was certain that the village had been evacuated, as there didn't seem to be any human remains. Unfortunately, Kagome only saw what lay on the surface— and why wouldn't she? She had just lost the man she loved, her best friend, and was already under so much stress that she couldn't possibly have been expected to look into the matter more deeply. 

Of course, his situation mirrored hers, but his life was cursed. These sorts of things always happened to him. It wasn't expected, but it wasn't a surprise either. Naraku had stolen everything from him— his family, his future, and even his tears, it seemed.

He caught Kagome as she fainted, his face haunted with a grim expression. She had barely slept or eaten since she had mechanically helped him bury their companions a few days ago, and he had been waiting for the stress to take its toll. He needed to get her home to her family - she couldn't very well stay here, not when they didn't know where any of the villagers were, or if they were alive at all. But he couldn't just toss her in the well, either. The Shikon no Tama was gone, and there was no way of telling if the well would still work.

Very well. He'd just have to jump in with her. That way, if she wasn't transported to the future, it wouldn't be _her_ ankles that would be broken. He hefted her into his arms and sat on the edge of the old well. Clenching his eyes, he swung his legs over the side, cradled Kagome tightly, and jumped.

When he opened his eyes, he was surprised to find a roof over his head instead of the clear, blue sky.

* * *

Miroku discovered the hard way that the well no longer worked, and Kagome and her mother had kindly decided to take him in. It wasn't hard for them to convince everyone that Miroku was an old acquaintance that had lived in a secluded temple all of his life. He was obviously a monk, and he obviously didn't know anything about the modern world, and you only needed to look at him once to know he had recently suffered a grievous loss. His friendly smile never seemed to reach his haunted, violet eyes. 

For that matter, Kagome's smile was no more genuine. Her friends quickly learned not to mention her old boyfriend anymore. Whenever they did, Kagome would excuse herself and disappear for time, sometimes not emerging again until hours had passed.

Miroku's behavior didn't start mirroring hers until a few weeks after he arrived in her time. He was too busy working at the shrine and trying to catch up on a few centuries of history and learnings to think much about what had happened, but eventually he wondered whether Sango would have liked to see him in the new jeans he wore, or if she would have enjoyed going out to see a movie with him, and the tears started to flow freely. He even laughed in relief that he could still cry. Naraku hadn't numbed his heart completely after all.

The monk was sure to find a secluded spot whenever he cried, and he never looked for Kagome again until he was certain all the redness had left his eyes. She was burdened enough— he didn't want her to feel like she had to comfort him, too. Therefore, it was a shock to him when Kagome found him leaning against the now-dead well one day, wallowing in misery. Presumably she had come to do the same thing, because she froze in shock as she took in the sight of him. He was sure his eyes were still bloodshot, and he hadn't bothered to try to wipe the drying tear tracks off his cheeks.

He met her eyes, and suddenly her eyes were filled with tears as well. He looked away guiltily, but then she crumpled down next to him and buried her face and hands in his shirt, sobbing uncontrollably. He felt his sorrow surge again and he held her tightly, his tears disappearing into her hair as they rolled down his face.

"He wished for me to be happy," Kagome cried in anguish, "but how can I be happy if he isn't here with me?"As they wept together, Miroku wished he knew the answer.

* * *

The months passed and donations to the shrine kept rising. Mrs. Higurashi insisted it was because of Miroku's recent employment. 

"He really is quite the charmer," she said to Kagome one evening as they were preparing dinner. "The people can't get enough of him."

Believe me, mom," Kagome muttered, remembering all the times that Miroku had hoodwinked villagers into giving them a place to sleep for the night in return for warding away the evil plaguing their homes, "I know all about it."

"And there's a group of girls that come to see him every day."

"Hm," Kagome replied, hiding the faint blush that came to her cheeks by bending her head down while chopping the vegetables. It wasn't hard to see why Miroku might have some admirers. She'd never really noticed it before due to the monk's voluminous robes, but now that he was wearing modern clothing she couldn't help but be aware of his fine physique.

"And I've heard that his good luck charms actually do work!"

"What?!"

"Oh yes, and he even makes them right on the spot..."

But Kagome wasn't listening anymore. She was frowning thoughtfully, wondering how best to convince Miroku to stop selling fake charms to patrons.

* * *

"Kagome, I'm wounded!" Miroku cried, throwing one arm over his forehead dramatically. 

"Come on, Miroku," she huffed. "There's no way they can be real. There's no such thing as a good luck charm." She crossed her arms and looked at him expectantly. He sighed.

"Well, that much is true," he conceded, and she grinned.

"I knew it!"

"There are malicious spirits everywhere, bringing harm to others. The charms just ward off their attentions," he explained, and Kagome leaned forward, intrigued despite her reservations.

"Most of the spirits can only manage small things, like tripping people, so those people might not notice that they've been having less bad luck lately. But when a spirit pushes a flowerpot off of a windowsill and it hits the person behind you instead of you— that's something person might notice."

Kagome's eyes were wide. "Could you teach me how to do them, too?"

"I don't know," he said, leaning back and glancing off to the side, doing his best to look miffed. "You did just accuse me of lying..."

"But if it would help people..." she trailed off, trying to think of what she could say to convince him. A small pout had formed on her lips, and Miroku felt his heart skip a beat.

"Well," drawled, "I suppose I _could_ show a few things..."

Her brilliant smile coupled with the way the sun made her hair glitter took his breath away, but she didn't notice because she was standing up and smoothing the wrinkles from her school uniform. "Let me go get changed and we can get started now!"

Miroku emitted a strangled sort of noise that Kagome must have interpreted as reluctance, because after taking a few steps she looked over her shoulder and said, "Don't worry, I'll be the perfect student, you'll see!" She turned and jogged the rest of the way to the house, and called out with a laugh, "You won't regret this!"

That was how the sessions between the two evolved from crying to sitting in comfortable silence to learning. Miroku didn't regret it.

* * *

Kagome could hardly believe that Miroku had only been with them for a year. It seemed like he had always been there— that's how fast he took to modern technology. He sucked in knowledge almost as quickly as his kazaana used pack away their enemies. She was certain that, given a few more months, he would be able to take a high school entrance exam. 

He was still giving her lessons to help control and hone her powers. She wondered why she never asked him for help with it before, though it was true they didn't have much time for training when they were fighting Naraku. An old ache welled up in her chest for a moment when she thought of her old friends, but it passed as merely an ache. She hardly ever needed to cry, anymore. After all, she had Miroku there with her.

She smiled slightly, amused at the thought that someone she once viewed as a perverted trickster monk could be such a huge source of comfort and security to her.

Also, apparently, a source of distraction.

Even now, though she was supposed to be clearing her mind for meditation, the only thing she could concentrate on was the warmth where his knees and palms were touching hers as they knelt facing each other. She peeked one eye open to look upon his serene countenance, still deep in meditation. She was extremely aware of how close they were; all she had to do was lean in a bit more, and—

There was a knock at the door downstairs, jolting her back to her senses.

* * *

Miroku hadn't noticed the knocking at all, but he was snapped out of his meditative state when a slightly flushed Kagome ran from the room to go see to their guest. Being with Kagome made him feel calm and at ease...most of the time. Sometimes when she was near, his heart raced and his skin shivered where she touched him. He tried to ignore it, though. He didn't want Kagome to think she was just a replacement for Sango, and she hadn't really done anything to show that she felt anything for him other than grateful friendship. 

Slightly bewildered by her hasty exit— she was supposed to be meditating, after all— he shook his head and was just standing up to follow her when he heard her exalted cry.

"Shippou-kun!"

He practically ran from the living room to the door to find Kagome gathered up in the arms of a rather handsome, red-headed kitsune, gripping him in a vice-like hug in return. He tried to fight off a frown and told himself that it wasn't his place to feel jealous. Kagome needed to find happiness where she could.

He turned his attentions back outward to pick up what Shippou was saying.

"I was coming by every fifteen years or so to see if you were here yet. I'm sorry I didn't manage to find you sooner, though," the fox said, eying Miroku with sympathy shining in his knowing eyes.

"Don't worry about that," Kagome said as Shippou put her down. "Let me go get Mama! She'd really like to meet you!" Kagome dashed outside to find her mother, leaving the monk with the kitsune.

"So, you ended up here after all," Shippou stated, not looking particularly surprised.

"Seems that way."

"You treating her right?"

Miroku raised a questioning eyebrow, though he knew perfectly well what Shippou was implicating. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"You know damn well what I'm talking about, Miroku! If you've been touching her with your perverted fingers—"

"I haven't touched her at all," the monk said lightly, though in truth he was feeling a bit sorry for himself. He put on his most innocent face and covered his heart with his hand reverently. "You know I would never deign to handle a woman who didn't care for my affections."

The kitsune snorted and rolled his eyes, remembering how Kagome had smelled when she came to greet him at the door, and the way her face was rosy and how fast her heart had been beating.

"If you say so, monk," he responded dryly, tapping his nose with a finger, "but the nose never lies." Miroku was left to ponder while Shippou turned to meet Mrs. Higurashi.

* * *

"Isn't it great?" Kagome practically squealed after Shippou went on his way. "Once he gets all of your papers set up, you can take the high school entrance exam. Maybe you'll score high enough to be placed in my class!" 

"Yeah. It's great," Miroku mumbled, inwardly gloomy about just how _not_ great it was to watch Kagome practically jump on another man and kiss his cheek, even if it was because the kitsune had offered to do a favor for him. He tried to internally stomp on the feelings of envy and jealousy, both because Shippou didn't deserve it and because he had no business feeling that way.

"What's wrong?" Kagome asked. "Did...did you not want to finish high school with me after all?" She worried at her bottom lip. "I'm sorry, I just assumed—"

"No, it's not that," he interrupted, looking away from her.

"Then what?" She stepped towards him and placed a hand on his forehead. "Are you sick? Maybe you should lie down."

Her touch felt like fire on his skin, and he caught her hand with his and pulled it from his face. "Don't."

"Don't...?" She looked utterly confused, her eyes wide and her lips partly open and red from her nibbling. "You're mad at m—"

He interrupted her again, this time with a chaste kiss, though not light enough that it could be taken as a mistake. When he found her unresponsive, he gently pushed her away from him and took a few steps backward. She didn't move to look at him.

"That was uncalled for," he mumbled, glad he didn't have to look her in the eye. "Please forget it happened."

He left her standing there as he hurried out to the well house to wallow in his own misery for a while.

* * *

The door had only just shut behind him before Kagome barged in, her eyes blazing and her breathing heavy. She'd obviously ran to catch up with him. 

"How DARE you!" she said fiercely, and Miroku paled a bit under her glare.

"I'm sorry, Kagome-sama," he said, reverting back to the old title of respect in an attempt to appease her. He held up his hands in a gesture of surrender. "I should have controlled myse—"

She quickly interrupted him. "You can't just steal a girl's first kiss and call it a mistake!" She was blushing now, but no less angry at him. Her fists were clenched and her arms were shaking, and if Miroku wasn't mistaken, she looked as though she was about to cry. "Don't you _know_ how much something like that means to a girl?"

"Sorry," he muttered again, looking away from her and feeling absolutely rotten. "I know there isn't anything I can do to make this up to you..."

There was a pause, and Miroku's heart ached at the first uncomfortable silence to come between them for months, before he heard her whisper so quietly that his ears had to strain to pick it up.

"Tell me you meant it."

His head snapped back towards her in shock. He was sure he hadn't heard her right. The tears were rolling down her face now, but her head was held high and she met his eyes, her entire expression voicing her challenge. Cautiously, he took a few steps towards her, and when she didn't back down his heart raced with excitement as he took the last few paces and engulfed her in a crushing hug, nearly lifting her off the floor. One hand smoothed down her hair, pushing it away from her ear, and he whispered his response.

"I meant it."

With a gasp, Kagome's tears flowed more freely, and she gripped his shoulders and sobbed silently into his shirt. Miroku felt her relax into his embrace. He kissed her temple and rested his head on top of hers, and when she had calmed down they parted slightly so they could look at each other. Her eyes were glittering with happiness, and he was relieved at the confirmation that this was what she had wanted.

"Try again?" she asked, her cheeks rosy with the suggestion, and a slow smirk spread across Miroku's face.

"With pleasure."

* * *

Kagome rose on her tip-toes to meet his kiss. To her surprise, it was soft and sweet and passionate all at once, filled with promises of more to come. All the hurt she'd suffered since Naraku's defeat had led her down the path to this very moment— and she found she had no regrets.

* * *

**Author's Notes: Things to know before you ask questions!**  
AKA: Stuff I couldn't fit into the story context, haha! 

This is manga canon only. Notice how Shippou got left behind for the fight, etc. Thus Kagome has NOT had her first kiss!

I couldn't remember if Sesshoumaru could still resurrect people, but even if he can, it would have been impossible in this case anyway. Inuyasha's wish for Kagome to be happy was pure because his wish implied that she be happy _without him_. Therefore, the negative side of the jewel kept him dead (because I think the jewel is a huge jerk), and it set things up so that Miroku could make Kagome happy by keeping Sango dead, too, and letting him through the well.

How is Shippou not surprised by finding Miroku over in Kagome's time? I figure if Myouga isn't right there watching history happen, he has his ways to get the info. I'm sure he would have gone and found poor Shippou to tell him what happened.

Otherwise, feel free to ask things in your reviews! This is my first Miroku/Kagome fic, and I'm very interested in what fans have to say. I feel like Mir/Kag needs a lot of setup to happen, which is why this fic ended up almost 3000 words without all these notes attached.


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